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Report from China: ‘Human Rights Record of the United States in 2012’
May 18, 2013
The U.S. State Department recently released its Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, posing as the world judge of human rights again. As in previous years, the reports are full of carping and irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation in more than 190 countries and regions including China. However, the U.S. turned a blind eye to its own woeful human rights situation and never said a word about it.
Time to come in now!
May 8, 2013
Mother Brown was the name many of the homeless people gave Barbara Brown back in the day when food was scarce and shelters remote. Barbara Brown passed away in 2006. She left a legacy in Bayview Hunters Point that began with the use of her own money to feed the hungry out of her car. This small deed evolved into a full service kitchen.
Saving Our Future combats high infant and maternal mortality rates among Africans and African Americans
May 2, 2013
African and African American women face an infant and maternal mortality crisis in America! Infants and maternal mortality rates in these communities are twice as high as the rates for white women in the U.S. The African Women’s Development Fund USA (AWDF USA) has launched an awareness campaign, Saving Our Future, to educate community members and organize the leadership in hopes of changing the pattern.
SFUSD recruiting people of color for substitute teacher positions
April 24, 2013
At the Bayview branch of the San Francisco Public Library a group of about 25 people, mostly African Americans, sat listening attentively to a San Francisco Unified School District human resources recruiter. The recruiter, Amy Chacon, was giving a presentation on what it’s like to work for SFUSD – and hoping to attract substitute teachers for SFUSD “hard to staff” school positions.
Ninth Circuit upholds Caltrans equal opportunity program to counter discrimination in construction
April 17, 2013
Caltrans has a duty under federal law to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not funneled into an exclusionary contracting system. “The program is much more cautious than it could be given the extent of discrimination in the transportation contracting industry,” said Oren Sellstrom, legal director at the Lawyers’ Committee.
Blacks twice as likely as whites to develop Alzheimer’s
April 11, 2013
The Alzheimer’s Association is partnering up with the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center and the Alameda County Area Agency on Aging to offer an African American Caregiving and Wellness Forum on Saturday, April 20, to help the Bay Area community learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and how it is disproportionately affecting the African American community.
‘No Faith’: an interview with author and motivational speaker Kendra Willis
April 1, 2013
Kendra Willis is a Bay Area woman I have known for my whole life. This young family woman is a motivational speaker, an author of two books, a business owner, a wife and mother. Growing up, she was always an avid reader; now she is a celebrated writer of fiction, with her new book, “No Faith,” set to come out this May. Check her out in her own words …
Roy Clay, Black Godfather of Silicon Valley
February 8, 2013
One of our great African American mental giants is often called the “Godfather of Silicon Valley.” Roy L. Clay Sr. is the name of this African American star. In 1965, he created and headed the Hewlett-Packard computer division. It was the first computer company in the Silicon Valley. In 1966, Roy and his team created the HP-2116, the world’s first mini-computer.
Leo Robinson, soul of the longshore
January 29, 2013
Leo Robinson was a Black leader of the longshore union in San Francisco. He died in mid-January. For many of us, he was a lifelong companion, an example of what being an internationalist and a working class activist was all about. When Leo Robinson spoke, he had the full attention of every union member in Local 10’s cavernous waterfront union hall.
The N-word unchained
January 28, 2013
Movie-goers across the country are embroiled in heavy social media discussions or water cooler arguments about Quentin Tarantino’s use and Spike Lee’s criticism of use of the infamous N-word in the blockbuster hit “Django Unchained.” During the last couple of decades there has been an interesting ongoing dialogue concerning the use, misuse and exploitation of the so-called N-word.
Martin, money and movies: ‘Django’ and ‘Lincoln’ remind us reparations should not be ‘Gone With the Wind’
January 21, 2013
On the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., it comes to mind that from day one our society and culture have been heavily influenced by film. The recent slavery-related films, “Lincoln,” directed by Steven Spielberg, and “Django Unchained,” directed by Quentin Tarantino, will have a social, economic and psychological impact.
Kevin Weston and Lateefah Simon launch national search for bone marrow match, seek to register 1,000 African Americans
January 18, 2013
Kevin Weston and Lateefah Simon have started a national effort to register 1,000 African Americans as possible bone marrow donors and find a match for Kevin, who needs a transplant in less than two months for an extremely rare form of leukemia. They urge African Americans to join the Be the Match bone marrow registry by attending a local drive or registering by mail. It’s quick and easy. Help save Lelah’s daddy. Help Kevin and Lateefah change the odds for their family by increasing the number of African Americans registered to be bone marrow donors.
The Abolitionists or absolute bull: The myth of the Great White Hope
January 8, 2013
This week, PBS will air “The Abolitionists,” a movie about people who during the 19th century spoke out against the evils of chattel slavery. The Abolitionist Movement has been subject to historical revisionism and an attempt by white America to pick our heroes. African Americans must become experts in the field of their own history, as no other racial group would dare trust the interpretation of their culture to others.
ACLU opposes SFPD taser deployment
January 5, 2013
A Dec. 4, 2012, ACLU letter to SF Mayor Ed Lee urged rejecting any SFPD proposal “to deploy tasers or other conductive energy devices”. The letter emphasizes that costly tasers would generate heavy legal fees from officer overuse and abuse, posing serious injury and death risks, especially to SFPD’s targeted populations: people in public mental health crisis and people of color.
Obstacles to Black economic development
December 6, 2012
I’ve noticed in Black families that if there are four adult siblings and three of them are professionals and one is a business owner, among the family, the professionals seem to be revered more than the business owner. I have seen churches, professional organizations and magazines give more credence and recognition to professionals than to business owners.
A Harriet Tubman Christmas story: an interview with ‘Go Tell It!’ playwright Taiwo Kujichagulia-Seitu
December 5, 2012
Taiwo Kujichagulia-Seitu’s theatrical piece centers around the story of Harriet Tubman rescuing her brothers from slavery during Christmas-time. “Go Tell It!” paints a picture of what is was like for men who lived through slavery their whole lives getting word from their runaway sister Black Moses, that she was coming to put them on the Underground Railroad to freedom in the North.
Black media’s quarterback: an interview wit’ journalist Kevin Weston
November 3, 2012
On Monday, Nov. 26, at Yoshi’s in Oakland, we will be honoring Kevin Weston and a number of other Black media-makers who represent for the Black community in Northern California. Everyone is invited. The night will be a celebration of life and resistance in the home of the Black Panther Party and independent rap music. Until then, here is Kevin in his own words.
A conversation with Sam King, author of ‘The African American’s Guide to Working from Home and Neighborhood’
October 5, 2012
We need more business owners working from their apartments, vans or cars, vacant lots, and boarded up shops and storefronts. Keep in mind on your journey down the entrepreneur road, that wealth originates from within, first. To gain access to cash, sometimes you have to look to untraditional sources online which give artists and entrepreneurs a helping hand.
Joanna Haigood’s ‘Sailing Away’: Black exodus from San Francisco 1858 and 2012
September 21, 2012
Sometimes one gets tired of living in a place that doesn’t want you there, Zaccho Artistic Director, Joanna Haigood, states at the reception Thursday at the California Historical Society. The only problem is 154 years later, Black people are still unwelcome in San Francisco, which is what “Sailing Away” addresses so eloquently without words.
Groups urge Congresswoman Lee to push back against federal prison phone kickbacks
September 7, 2012
As part of a larger effort called the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, a delegation representing Bay Area organizations is petitioning Conngresswoman Barbara Lee to ask the FCC to address the high cost of prison phone calls by passing the Wright Petition.